Keeping Company
by busa-simba-busa-simba
Summary: After seeing Frozen 2 I was wondering how everyone, particularly Elsa and the castle staff, became okay with having a reindeer in the castle, so I decided to explore that. How a reindeer won the heart of the ice queen! Set shortly after the events of the first film. WIP


It was an hour past noon on a bright summer day when Elsa found herself in the predicament of joblessness. Not that her job as a queen was ever _done, _per say, but today's work was certainly complete: a couple of meetings with royal advisors, a few responses to letters from foreign dignitaries, a rendezvous with the head chef to discuss Anna's upcoming birthday cake, and she was…finished. She found herself standing by the desk in her study, awkwardly flexing her fingers and looking around. "Gerda," she called uncertainly to her handmaid, who was dusting across the room, "is there anything I've forgotten to do today?"

"No, Your Majesty. You're ahead of schedule, as usual." Gerda looked over at her with the kindness and concern of a woman who'd known Elsa all her life. "You're allowed to have some free time, ma'am. It would be good for you to do what you'd like for a change."

"Yes. Well, normally I'd be with Anna," Elsa said, glancing over at the clock, "but she took Mr. Bjor—Kristoff to town today." Anna had hoped to find some new clothes for the ice harvester, and Elsa was reluctant to interrupt them. The man needed something fresh.

"It's a beautiful day," Gerda observed. "Some fresh air could benefit you, ma'am. Perhaps a walk around the courtyard or the gardens, or maybe a romp on the pony."

Elsa did not need convincing; having spent most of her life trapped in one room, she cherished every moment she got to spend under the open sky. And so she found herself strolling towards the stables, thinking blissfully of a quick getaway on horseback.

Fjord horses were popular among these parts—sturdy, good-willed creatures who could handle the cold and the terrain. They mostly came in a dun color, but Arendelle had a tradition of keeping rare gray horses for the royal family. Her horse, Iskrem, was easy to spot in the pasture, standing almost white against the green grass and tan herd. Elsa approached the fence and whistled. "Iskrem!"

A couple of the horses looked up, including Iskrem. The gray horse watched her for a moment, then dropped his head again to resume eating. But a sound rang out across the pasture—something almost like a cow lowing—and Elsa looked to see a dark brown, antlered shape bounding across the grass towards her. Kristoff's reindeer! What was he doing with the horses?

The deer arrived to meet her at the fence, panting and wiggling much like a dog would. Elsa found herself smiling despite her confusion. "Hi, big guy. Sven, right?" She extended her hand towards him, and Sven paused, becoming very still. With perked ears and an inquisitive gaze, he sniffed her hand carefully. Then his tongue lolled out and slurped across her fingers.

Elsa's eyes widened—her instinct was to pull back, but then a giggle escaped her. "You _are_ a big puppy," she decided aloud, reaching and scratching him behind the ear. Sven grunted and leaned into her touch. He was huge, Elsa thought, especially for a reindeer—nearly the size of Iskrem himself. What did Kristoff feed him?

"Wait—why didn't Kristoff take you? You two go everywhere together."

Sven didn't answer, naturally. He just turned his body so that she could scratch between his shoulders. For the first time that Elsa could remember, he wasn't wearing his harness. She supposed even reindeer needed off days.

She peered around his antlers back at the horses. "Iskrem! Come here!"

Iskrem didn't look up this time.

Elsa sighed. She ran her hand along the back of Sven's neck. "Oh, well. I won't force him to go if he doesn't want to."

Sven pricked his ears and looked at her. "What? Want to take a trip around the fjord with me?" she asked him playfully. To top off all the surprises, the reindeer nodded enthusiastically.

Elsa looked around. Surely she couldn't just go off on a romp with someone else's animal. That was stealing, right? And did you ride a reindeer like a horse, or walk him like a dog?

Sven suddenly bounded away from her, racing to the pasture gate. He bounced around there, panting and glancing back at her.

Definitely canine.

And so the queen of Arendelle found herself strolling the hills of the fjord with an ice harvester's anthropomorphic reindeer.


End file.
